Telephone system



A. B. SPERRY.

TELEPHONE SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 8. 1919.

I Patented Feb. 14, 1922,

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ARTHUR B. SPERRY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.,

PANY, INCORPORATED, OF NEW YORK,

N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

TELEPHONE SYSTEM.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR BRUCE SPERRY a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Telephone Systems, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description.

This invention relates to telephone systems and particularly to an alarm signaling apparatus within such systems.

It is the object of the invention to provide a slow acting device by means of which an alarm will be operated if an unst-andard condition arises. and continues for more than a predetermined interval of time.

The feature of this invention is a. circuit equipped with a number of relays which act and react through a plurality of cycles to establish a circuit for the alarm signaling apparatus.

Heretofore slow acting devices, such. as that shown in the Patent No. 1,279,811, granted September 24, 1918, to. lVilliams, have been provided, but there the timing is dependent on the number of relays, each of which operates at a single time. In the present case the number of relays is reduced and a new method of timing is introduced through which certain relays act and react, that is, they cycles of operation.

The drawing is a diagrammatic representation of a circuit employed in carrying out this invention. It represents a telephone line, a non-numerical switch and a numerical Switch. Connecting into the circuit of the numerical switch is the circuit of the timing apparatus which will be operated if the nu merical switch is not set mined time.

The operation of the timing device will first be described. Within the circuit of the numerical switch is a slow releasingrelay 0. Under certain conditions, this relay attracts its armatures to cause certain circuit changes which will hereinafter be more fully described. At the right-hand armature and front contact a. circuit is made to ground, which is connected through the left-hand armature and back contact of the relay 3 to the winding of relay 1. Relay 1 attracts its armature and therethrough establishes a connection from ground at the armature of relay O to the winding of relay 2. Relay 2, in

within a predeter- Speeification of Letters Patent.

go through several complete Patented Feb. 14, 1922.

Application-filed November 8, 1919. Serial No. 336,537.

turn, through its right-hand armature connects ground to the winding of relay 3, which thereupon attracts its armatures. 1ts left-hand.- armature and back cont-act relay opens the circuit of relay 1, but relay 1, belng slow to release, does not immediately retract its armatures. When it does, however, a circuit is established from ground at the armature of relay 0 to the normal contact of relay 1, the left-hand armature and front contact of relay2, the winding of relay 4., to battery and ground. When relay 4 attracts lts'armature it brings relay 5 into the circuit,but relay 5 at this time is Short circuited, due to the ground connected to the upper connection to its winding and also to ground connected to the armature and contact of relay 4. Relay 1 in retracting its armatures also opens the circuit of relay 2, but relay 2 being slow to release does not immediately retract its armatures. When it does, however, at its right-hand armature and front contact, it opens the circuit of relay 3 which retracts its armatures. At the left-hand armature and front contact of relay 2, the shunt is removed from around relay 5 and a circuit is now provided from ground, to right-hand armature and contact of relay 0, the winding of relay 5, the armature and contact of relay 4., the winding of relay 4. to battery and ground. In this manner relay 4. remains energized and relay 5 becomes energized. Relay 5 at its left-hand armature and back cont-act opens the original energizing circuit of relay 4 and at its right-hand armature closes a substitute circuit for relay 3 which, however, is not effective at this time. Upon the retraction of its armatures (relay 3), the original circuit for relay 1 is again established and it attracts its armature, thereby again establishing the circuit for relay 2. Relay 2, in turn, through its righthand armature establishes a circuit for relay 3, which attracts its armatures and closes the substitute circuit for itself, so that it is now locked up in a circuit from ground, contact and right-hand armature of relay 0, the lefthand armature and front contact of relay 3, the contact and right-hand armature of relay 5, winding of relay 3, to batteryand ground. Relay 3 as before opens the energizing circuit of relay 1. Relay 1 after an interval retracts its armatures and thereupon reopens the circuit of relay 2. Relay 2 also after an interval retracts its armatures and thereupon ASSIGNOR TO WESTERN ELECTRIC COM- the circuit for the signaling means 6 is closed. This circuit extends from ground, to contact and right hand armature of relay O, the normal contactof relay 1, the lefthand armature and back contact of relay 2, the contact and right-hand. armature of relay 3, the signaling means 6, which may in the form of a relay to close a master circuit, or it may be an ordinary vibrating electric bell, and thence to battery and ground.

In this manner then is the round at the right-hand armature of relay extended to the signaling means 6, after an interval which is determined b the time taken for two complete cycles 0 operation ofrelays 1 and 2. V

The application of this timing circuit is of established importance in a telephone system as shown. Suppose a subscriber at station A removes his receiver from its hook to establish a call to some other telephone line. Immediately a switch represented by the brushes 7 will come into operation in a well known manner. These brushes are the ordinary representation of what is known as a line finder switch. Thereupon the circuit of the substation A will be extended to the winding of relay 8 and current flows from battery, to left-hand winding of relay 8, the

inner lower armature and back contact of.

relay 9, apparatus at substation A,the upper armature and back contact of relay 9, and right-hand windingof relay 8, to ground. Relay 8 becomes energized in this circuit and through its armature places a ground on relay 0 which attracts its armatures. If the subscriber now manipulates 'his impulse sending device 10, the armature of relay 8 will vibrate. Each deenergization of rela 8, in response to the impulses transmitte establishes a circuit from ground, armature and back contact of relay 8, back contact.

' v and lowermost armature of relay 9, the inner left-hand armature and front contact of relay O, the winding of relay 11, the windi of primary magnet 12, to battery and groun Magnet 12 responds to each separate impulse but relays 11 and remain energized through the sending of the whole train. Magnet 12- moves t ebrushes 13, 1a and 15 into association with a particular group of lines. At the end of the series of impulses, relay 11 becomes deenergized. During its energization ground is extended through its front contact and armature to the winding of relay 16 and thence to battery and ground. Relay 16 attracts its left-hand armature and thereby locks up in a circuit from ground, the front contact and outer left-hand armature of relay 0, the contact 17 of the off normal contact which is operated upon the first primary step of the switch, the right-hand armature and back contact of the secondary magnet 18, armature, front contact, and winding of relay 16,

to battery and comes deenergized the original ground for ground. A When relay 11 bethe energization of relay 16 is removed, but

the ground which now holds relay 16 enerized is connected through the armature and gack contact of relay 11 to the back contact and left-hand armature of secondary magnet 18, winding of secondary magnet 18, to

battery and ground, whereupon secondary ma net begins to operate automatically.

e will assume that the first trunk with which the brush 15 associates itself, is busy. This busy condition will be denoted by a ground on the terminal 19. ondary magnet 18 moves-the brushes 13, 14 and 15 into association with this first trunk, and as it nears the end of its stroke, its armatures leave their contacts and open the respective circuits completed thereby. The ground for the energization of relay-16 is thereby removed, but since the first trunk has been assumed to be busy, the substitute ground will be connected from contact 19 brush 15, the armature and front contact 0 and ground, to hold relay 16 energize Upon the second step of magnet 18, an idle trunk is encountered the absence of ground on terminal corresponding to 19. In this case no substitute ground for the relay 16 is founda Relay 16 deenergizes and at its armature and front contact opens the circuitfor the energization of the secondary magnet 18. When the secondary magnet 18 comes to rest with its armatures in their retracted. position, the ound which was heretoforeprovided for holdin relay 16 energized is now connected throng the right armature and'contact of magnet 18 to the winding of relay 9. Relay 9 in attracting its armatures cuts the relay 8 off from the line, and out of the control of the subscribers substation A. Relay 9, also at its lowermost armature and contact, opens the circuit of the release magnet which was heretofore held open at the innermost armature and contact of relay 0.

. Throughout this operation the o eration of the timing device consisting of re ays 1 to 5, inclusive, and the alarm signaling apparatus was going on, but in the ordinar case the operatio'n would not be complete until some time after the brushes 13, 14, 15 were properl placed on the terminals of the idle line. herefore, when relay 9 operates and relay- 8 is removed from the control of the substation A, it retracts its armature and deenergizes the relayO which, in turn, r0

'relay16, thawinding of relay 16, to battery As the secand this is denoted by moves the energizin ground from the tim- I hook, or if the line in any way becomes short circuited, switch 7 will act and in'turn'relays 8 and Q will become energized and remain so for an indefinite period. If a predetermined length of time elapses as defined by the operations of relays 1 and 2 as described, the signaling device 6 will operate and an attendant will be notified thereby that an unstandard condition in a numerical switch has arisen whereupon he may take the necessary measures to remedy this condition.

What is claimed is:

1. In a telephone system, a timing device consisting of an organization of circuits and relays, said relays being arranged in said circuits to act and react through a plurality of cycles to render said device effective.

2. In a telephone exchange, a circuit to be supervised, a plurality of relays associated wit-h said circuit and initially energized and deenergized in succession when said circuit is closed, means for again causing the same cycle of operations if the same circuit remains closed for a predetermined period, and a signal operated only upon the completion of the second cycle of operations.

3. In a telephone system having therein a timing device comprising an organization of circuits, relays and a signaling device, a plurality of relays responsive to the actuation of said timing device by one complete cycle of operations consisting of one energization and one deenergization each to prepare a circuit for said signaling device, and

. responsive to the continued actuation of said timing device by a second complete cycle of operations to render effective said circuit for said signaling device.

4. In a telephone system, a timing device consisting of an incoming line, a plurality of relays, an out oing line and an alarm signal device, sai relays being responsive to a prolonged change of potential on said incoming line to connect said incoming line to said outgoing line and said alarm signal device being responsive to a change of potential on said outgoing line, said relays being included in a circuit arrangement whereby a first relay is energized by said change of potential on said incoming line, a second relay is'energized in response to the energization of said first relay, a third relay is energized in response to the energization of said second relay, said first relay thereupon being deenergized in response to the energization of said third relay, afourth relay being then energized in response to the deenergization of said first relay and the continued energization of said second .relay, said second relay being thereupon deenergized in response to the deenergizationof said first relay, said third relay being thereupon deenergized in response to the deenergization of said second relay, affifth relay being thereupon energized in series with said fourth relay in response to the deenergization of said second rel'ay, said first relay being thereupon energized In response to the deenergization of said third relay, said second relay being thereupon energized in response to the energization of said first relay, said third relay being thereupon energized in response to the energization of said second relay and being locked in reponse to the continued energizalay and-the deenergization of said first and second relays.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 6th day of November A. D., 1919.

ARTHUR B. SPERRY. 

